Shoe and method of making the same



July 23, 1929. A.' F. BANcRoF-'r 1,722,029

snoE AND METHOD oF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ff@ 'y 55,

July 23, 1929. A. F. BANcRoF-r '1,7229029 SHOE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 23, l1929.

UNI-TED .STATES PATENT orricr..

ALBERT I'. BANCROFT, OF WEST NEWTON, MASSA'CHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO BANQBJOFT WALKERl COMPANY, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF w- SACHUSETTSJ SHOE AND METHOD F MAKING THE SAME.

Application led December 15, 1927. Serial Ne. 240,148.

This invention relates to that type of shoes in which special provision is made to lsupport the metatarsal arch of the foot by providing a raised portion in the bottom at the middle of the ball portion thereof and also to a method by which a particular shoe pf this type may be made.

In providing-the' shoe bottom with special supporting means for the metatarsal arch usually either a pad or filler piece of some description such as a piece of rubber or leather has been placed directly beneath the sock lining, after the shoe has been constructed, or between the inner sole and outer sole during the process of construction, although other methods have been employed. While each of the above specified methodsI has certain advantages over the other under certain conditions the results secured with either y. method have not been satisfactory in many instances, primarily because the inserted pad or support has frequently failed to perform its intended function after the shoe has been Worn for a short time, as compared with the normal length o f'time which the shoe would ordinarily be worn. rlhis failure is believed to be due, in many instances, to the fact that the pad, or other metatarsal supporting means is entirely supported by the portion of the shoe bottom directly beneath it, which becomes depressed, so that, while the inner surface of the shoe may be suitably raised, so as to produce the desired effect when the shoe is first worn, subsequent wear results in o the gradual depression or sagging of this raised portion until its beneficial effect becomes destroyed. While itlis common practice to recess the bottom of the last on which the shoe is made, to provide suitable spec@ for `an inserted pad, or raised portion, in th making operation, and various constructions have been produced in an attempt to overcome the defect above referred to, so far as I am aware, effective and satisfactory means for accomplishing this result have not been produced. f

Moreover, in the manufacture of shoes of this character, in which a metatarsal arch supporting filler or pad is incorporated in the shoe at the time of its construction, diflilculty has been encountered in providing factorymethods which will result in the location yof the supporting means in theexact'.

'position desired, and, when these methods fail in this respect, the results produced are particularly objectionable.

The'objects of my invention are to provide a method of manufacturing "shoes whereby metatarsal arch supporting means` may be correctly positioned in the shoe, under practically all conditions, without interference with the ordinary factory operations, and which will be particularly advantageous in connection with the manufacture of shoes o'f the type in which an outer so1e,upper and inner sole are directly connected by-any suitable fastening means, such as stitches, nails or cement, without the employment of 'an intermediate welt. Also, to produce a shoe of this type having in its bottom a ,raised portion arranged to provide a sup ort for the metatarsal arch which will. not rimarily dependent on the outersole for ho din the supporting means in position and wi not sa or become depressed to an appreciable or obJectionable extent, by causing excessive pressure on the outersole portion directly beneath it and consequent excessive wear on this portion, so as to permit such depression.

I' accomplish these objects in the manner hereinafter described and' as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figs. l to 5 are plan and edge views of an innersole, illustrating various steps in the method of construction prior to the lasting operation. i

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a form of pad or filler piece which is used in this connection.

Fig. 7 is a perspective viewof a last which is employed in the process of manufacture.

Fig. 8 is a cross section of the shoe on the last, previous to the sole attachinig'operation, plren4 approximately at the line 8-8 of Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.A v

Fig.v 10 is a similar cross sectional view of the shoe subsequent to the sole attaching operation. 4 y

The improved method employed in vthe manufacture of shoes embodym m invention 'is the same, with certain a ditlons and modifications, as the method disclosed in the U. S. Patent to Ray No. 1,641,7 82, but, as the additions and modifications are interpolated therein at various points, a general description of the whole operation will be. necessary.

A flexible inner sole 10, which is preferably of thin leather reinforced with canvas, is diedout to conform exactly to the bottom of the last on which the shoe is to be made, execept that, at the ball portion, it is made slightly wider than the last bottom, as indicated in Fig. 1, in which the dott-ed lines indicate the portions of the outline of the last bottom which do not conform to the outline of the inner sole. A heel reinforce 12, which will preferably be formed from leather board or card board, is also died vout to conform to the heel and shank portion of the last .bottom, so that the front portion of its shank will be somewhat narrower than the corresponding portion of the innersole, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Also, when the inner sole. 10 is died out, a' small notch 11 is cut in each edge thereof at the ball portion, for a purpose to be explained. The front edge of the reinforce 12 is preferably skived or slightly beveled on its under side, as indicated at 12, leaving, however, a front edge of sub.

. its stiffening effect on its shank portion is inconsequentiah but it is extended to the ball-portion so that it may be terminated without causing unevenness in the sole bottom. In the present instance, it is also uti#v lized as an effective locating means for a filler piece for providing an additional support for the metatarsal arch, as hereinafter described. The particular embodiment of filler piece shown consists of a pad 15, which is referably made of soft rubber molded in a orm to correspond to the extent-to which it is desired to raise the inner surface of the shoe bottom beneath the metatarsal arch. Said pad is preferably made in somewhat triangular, or wedge shaped form and is Vtapered to a thin/'edge at all points, the side which isuppermost when in the shoe being rounded transversely, and the opposite side being flat and comprising a face 15, which extends from the rear or narrower end to a transverse shoulder 15", which is located at the widest part of the pad, and a beveled face 15c which extends from said shoulder to the wider or front end, the thickness of the pad increasing gradually from the smaller, or rear end to the shoulder, andthen decreasing more sharply from the shoulder to the front end, the points of greatest thickness thus being at .the` middle portion of the shoulder `15", the height 'of wh1ehis made to correspond to the thickness of the front edge of the reinforce 12. The next step in the -process, after the reinforce has'beena stapled The reinforce 12 is secured to the in position, as shown in Fig. 2, is to insert the tapering portion of the padv 15 between the inner sole and the reinforce, with its rounded side next the sole and yits face/ 15a engaged with the reinforce, until its shoul der 15b is engaged with the front edge of the reinforce. The pad is thus positioned longitudinally, and is then positioned transversely by holding its side edge at the end of the shoulder in coincidence with the notch 13 in the reinforce, in which position the pad is secured to the sole by a small staple 16 which will be driven thru the face 15c into the innersole. A rigid inflexible metal shank stiffener 18 is provided, which is similar in all respects to the stiifener illustrated in said prior patent, except that the front rivet therein is located considerably in the rear of the front end. The stilfener is iirst placed on the middle portion of the sole and positioned longitudinally by holding its front end approximately coincident with the line between the notches 11. The sole and reinforce are then conformed to the curvature of the stiffener, and secured together, a rivet 19 first being driven thru the heel portion, after which the middle portion will be secured by vrivet 20 slightly in the rear of the rear end of the pad 15, so that the latter will not be engaged by the rivet.-

A last 22 is provided, which is of ordinary form except that it has a shallow cavity 23 formed in the middle of the ball portion, and

so located that when', in the next operation,

pad 15 will be directly over the cavity. The

lasting operation is then performed and, by this operation, the innersole portion directly beneath the pad 15 will be pressed into the last cavity 23 and the adjacent edge portions of the inner sole, which projected slightly beyond the edge of the last, will be drawn in flush therewith. The outersole 24 will' then be secured in position,`so that the shoe will then be in the condition illustrated in Figs. 8` and 9. The last will then be withdrawn and the soles, reinforce and upper Will then be stitched together by stitches 25 passed there thru adjacent their edges in the usual manner, as indicated inFig. 10.

By these operations it will be observed that fastening means, to hold the inner sole ink its arched position. r As this action on the innersole might not be suflicient, when the shoe is worn, to hold the latter arched inward at this point', particularly if it isof light weight ma- I terial, las compared with the outersole, the

' tendency yto'c'rush down the arched or raised lwhich is extended beneath thepad nearly to the frontend thereofas shown in Figs. 4 and/10, and as it is practically inflexible, and

is rigidly supported at its heel end, after the heel has been attached, as in the dotted line position of Fig. 9,-its front end which engages Ithe pad will be rigidly sustained. Consev 4q'uently, `while the stiifener is .primarily effective in making the shank part inflexible and in holding the shoe in tread, it also mal terially'assists'in supporting the'pad' against depression.

As a result. pressure on the raised .portion of the shoe bottom beneath the metatarsal arch is not transmitted to the outer sole to an extent which is likely to cause material depression of the middle portion of the latter.

That is, with the above describedvconstruction, substantial depression of the raised-portion is practically prevented thruout the life of the shoe, while with other constructions which have been produced, where pressure on the raised portion is principally sustained by the outersole portion directly beneath it, this portion usually becomes depressed to such an extent, after a few weeks wear of the shoe, that all the advantages thereof are destroyed.

By means of the above described method and construction, the yraised portion in the shoe bottom is exactly located regardless of th'e length and width of the shoe, the sizes of the parts and locating pointsthereof being v correspondingly arranged, so that uniform results may be secured when the shoes are manufactured by ordinary factory operations and nothing in this regard will be left to the judgment of the operator.

The front rivet in the shank stiff'ener is located 4in the rear of the raised portion of the innersole, not only to avoid the necessity of driving the rivet thru the rubber pad, which would involvesome difficulty, but to avoid a' further difficulty, in that the fiat head of the rivet would ten'd to draw downward, or make an indentation in the inner side of the raised portion of the innersole.

It is also to be noted that the shoulder 15b on the pad not only acts to provide a convenient and accuratelocating means for the pad,

but, by making the thickness of the front edge of the reinforce and the vheight ofthe shoulder correspond to each other, the beveled surfaces on the front end of the reinforce and on the front end of the pad will be practically continuous and thev latter surface Awill meet the surface of the last bottom at -or adjacent the line Where the shank surface-meets the forepart surface, as indicated in Fig. 9, so v .that no unevenness, or cross line will be caused.

' inward, will thereby be enabled to act e'lfectively as a stay to hold the inner-sole in its transversely arched position, the outer sole (will also have a similar effect when directly attached to the inner sole, as shown, even though it may not be held as nearly flat transversely asthe reinforce Vand may be arched outward about the metal stiffener.. That is, pressure on the arched portion of the inner solewhich would tend to flatten it, or spread v`it transversely will be resisted by both the reinforce and the outer sole acting thru whatever fastening, or attaching means, is employed, whether they are tacks,`nails, stitches or an adhesive. Moreover, the attachment of the edge portions of these parts to be effective in acting as a stay to hold the inner sole in arched position must be direct. That is, the outer sole would not be effective in this particular if the innersole were connected thereto thru awelt.

While a form of filler piece, or pad is illustrated in which the transverse elements on its upper side are rounded, or convex, and this construction is considered preferable, any formation of pad in which a raised or thickened middle portion is provided on its upper side, the sides of' which decline to the opposite side edges, would be effective in this tween the front end portion of the reinforce.

and the sole atthe middle thereof, the portion of the reinforce engaged with the filler lpiece being held approximately flat trans 'versely and the inner sole portlon engaged therewith being arched transversely over the filler piece, and means directly securing the edge portions of the inner sole and reinforce together to Ahold said inner sole portion inclts arched position.

2. A shoe having an inner sole'a reinforce of sheet material ony the under side thereof ex. I

tending from the heel to the front end of the sh ank part in coincidence therewith, a yflexible filler piece engaged with the middle portion of the inner sole, and extending beneath the front portion of the shank part and rear portion of the forepart thereof, said 'filler piece having its topr side formed to decline from its middle portion to each side edge and its bottom side transversely flat, the inner sole being arched `transversely over the filler piece according to the thickness thereof, and the front portion of the reinforce being held approximately flat against the under side of the filler piece, and fastening means directly securing together the edge portions of the inner sole and reinforceadjacent said filler piece, to secure theinner sole: in said archedV position.

vshoulder to its `front end, said inner sole being arched transversely over said iiller piece and having its edge portions secured 1to theedge,` ortions of the reinforce. s

- shoe havin an inner sole, aheel and shank reinforce o sheet material on the under side thereof and extending to the front end of the shank part in coincidence therewith,`a filler piece disposed beneath the middle portion of the inner solev and extending lthruout the front portion of the shank part and rear portion of the forepart, the upper surface 'of said piece declining .from its iniddle portion to its. side edges and its under surface being iiat transversely, and having a transverse shoulder, arranged in abutment with the front edge of said reinforce and tapering in thickness from said shoulder to a thin edge at both ends, the angular relation of the under surface in front of said shoulder to that in the rear thereof corresponding to the angular relation of the shank and forepart of the shoe, and fastening means securing the edge portions of said inner sole and reinforce at each side of said filler piece.

5. A. shoe having an inner sole and an outer sole, aliller piece disposed therebetween at the Vmiddle portion thereof and extending thruout the ball portion in position to provide a support for the metatarsal arch, the transverse surface elements of said piece declining from the middle portion on its upper side and being approximately horizontal on its underny side, and the inner sole being transversely arched thereover and having its surface width at its larch portion increased corresponding! ly to the extent to which it is arched, so that its adjacent edges coincide with the normal outline of the shoe bottom, and fastening means directly connecting the edge portions of the soles at each side of said filler piece to hold the inner sole in arched position.

6. Ashoe having a flexible inner sole and a flexible reinforce on the underside thereof extending from the heel end to the front end of the shank part, a filler piece disposed bel disposed over the front portion of the reinforce and its front portion extending beyond ythe front end thereof, an inflexible shank stiffener rigidly held at its heel end and vextending beneath and in engagement with said reinforce and the front portion of said filler piece in conformity with the longitudinal formation of the corresponding bot-tom portion of the shoe, said inner sole being arched transversely over said filler piece and said i reinforce being held transversely flat and conc nected at itsfedge portions to the edge portionsof the' inner sole.

7 The method of making shoes whichconsists in providinga shaped inner sole and a reinforce which corresponds in shapeto the heel and shank ortion thereof, and providing a filler piece or inwardly bending the inner sole beneath the transverse 'arch of the foot, positioning the reinforce on the under v side of the inner sole in'coincident relation therewith and positioning the filler piece between the inner sole and the reinforce in predetermined relation to the front edge of the reinforce laterallyand longitudinally of the sole and securing all of said parts together as thus positioned, then securing the inner sole to the last bottom, lasting the upper onto the inner sole and completing the manufacturing operation.

8. The method of making shoes which consists in providing ashaped inner sole and a reinforce which corresponds in shape to the heel and shank portion thereof, and providing a filler'piece for inwardly bending the inner sole beneath the transverse arch of the foot,

positioning the reinforce on the under side the inner sole and the reinforce in predetermined relation to the front edge of the reinforce laterally and longitudinally of the sole and securing all of said parts together as thus positioned, providing a last having a cavity in its bottom in a position corresponding to the inner sole portion engaged by the filler piece, positioning the inner sole as thus prepared on the last bottom, bending said portion thereof into said cavity so that the adjacent edge portions of the inner sole are drawn inward, lasting the shoe and securing 'said edge portions of the inner sole to the reinforce in their indrawn posit-ions and completing the making operatlon.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT F. BANCROFT. 

